Art and Beauty Tuesday--Harald Slott Moller

The pure white of her dress is continued in the white of the curtains, which frame both the window and the silver coffee urn. The light and height are mimicked in the cream-colored clock that stands next to the chair that sits by the window.

The rest of the room is a typically dark interior of a pre-electric home. The light from the window tells us that this woman is getting her energy, not only from the coffee, but from the outside world and from nature.

The clock reminds us that what seems antique to us actually existed inside time and was this young woman's daily life.

"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark